Yes, it's time for a new post. Hmmm. Nothing to say...and I usually can ramble on quite well. I guess I could post on the weather. Utah weather this year is all over the map. We have frigid cold one minute, sun the next, rain, rain, rain and then ice, snow and what do you know, sunshine again. It's actually been a bit entertaining. I am weary of the winter however. I would like spring to peak it's little head up and decide to arrive even if it is a bit premature.
Come spring we plan on wreaking havoc in our yard (and I mean bonified, genuine havoc!!!) by bringing in a back hoe and digging up dump truckloads of dirt for an addition onto our home. Strange as it seems, we are enlarging our house even though 8 of our 11 children are wending their way in the world (the 9th one will soon follow.) The problem is that they are not necessarily wending their way alone therefore the principle of multiplication is in force and when everyone is at home one can barely find space to sit with their meal laden tray and eat. Watching my son-in-law standing in the corner while eating his Christmas pie clenched the deal. We need more space. So we are taking out our lovely 23 year old honey locust tree in the back yard, pulling down the front section of fence we just installed last fall, ripping out cement patios and stairs and digging a humongous hole in our back yard. The plan is to extend the kitchen, add a master bedroom out back so we can knock down the wall between our current bedroom and the family gathering area to make it larger. While we are at it we might as well extend the basement also (cheap square footage the builder says).
Our builder has informed us that we will need to learn how to live without a kitchen, a bathroom, two of the bedrooms,the family room and part of the basement and the garage. Hmmmmmmmmm.... Oh yes, and without much of the yard. Sprinklers, lawn and landscaping all in upheaval. Maybe this would be a good time for the earthquake (yes, we do live close to a fault line) and we can kill all the birds with one stone. Natalie will be returning home from Brazil in May, Nathanael from BYUI and there are five of us here now. So all seven of us will squeeze into the remaining space. It's possible I will very quickly want to be one of those birds. For some odd reason I am warily looking forward to it all.
Home Improvements!
15 years ago
5 comments:
you can come borrow our extra space whenever you decide you need to :) Sounds like a FUN but stressful remodel. but then again what remodel isn't stressful? So maybe just focus on the fun part, right. Good luck...and let us know if you need any of jarred's tools. I can't wait to see the finished project.
I HOPE you'll keep us updated with pictures! Nothing like a before and after. Kitchen idea for you: dutch oven it all spring and summer. :) Dutch oven and peanut butter and jelly. You guys will be fine.
Good luck! We did a similar project last fall. It wasn't as extensive as yours, but we did take out a bedroom and open up the living room. The rationale was the same as yours...our kids come home, but they bring more people with them. It was a terrible mess for eight weeks, but it was great fun. We love the results and I guess you have to pay the price for more space. Let me know if you need sub-contractor suggestions!
Goodness you are brave. It makes me a bit tired just thinking about it. I would like to do something similar with our kitchen dining room--open it all up, but it will take me years to work up to it. I'll wait to see how many kids with progeny hang around Knoxville.
Thanks everyone for all of your encouragement. I'll need every living ounce of it.
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